President Donald Trump continues to talk about making Canada the 51st state, but a new poll of American adults shows that Canada is not the first choice among the American people to be the 51st state. That distinction goes to Puerto Rico.
A poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) at Stetson University asked respondents which of the following would be their choice for the 51st state:
- Canada
- Greenland
- Washington, D.C.
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Guam
- American Samoa
- the Northern Mariana Islands
Top choice: Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was the first choice of those surveyed, with 55% of respondent choosing the territory for the next state of the Union.
Independents were the most enthusiastic, followed by Democrats and then Republicans. However, Puerto Rico was the most popular choice for all political parties.
Washington, D.C., was the second most popular choice. These two areas are the only ones on the list which have actually asked for statehood.
The rest followed in this order:
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Canada
- American Samoa
- Guam
- Greenland
- the Northern Mariana Islands
The numbers favoring any of the choices apart from Puerto Rico and D.C. were very small. Researchers concluded that the American public does not support statehood for Canada or Greenland.
Does Canada want to be a state?
Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister, has said, “America is not Canada, and Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” leaving little doubt about Canada’s official position on the idea of becoming the 51st state.
A Leger poll found that 82% of Canadians are opposed to the idea. Without support from either the leadership or the people of Canada, the United States might have no other means of coercion than military action.
Historically, nations have invaded other countries and taken them over, declaring them a part of their territories. The United States, however, has never done this. Even the U.S. annexation of Puerto Rico in 1898 was undertaken not as an invasion but as a liberation from Spain. Spain ceded Puerto Rico and its other New World possessions to the United States.
The United States could not realistically claim to be liberating Canada from the U.K.
Does Greenland want to be a state?
Greenland has recently held elections, in which the Independence Party did well. 84% of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, though different groups have different timelines in mind. Only 6%, in a recent poll, favored the idea of becoming a state of the U.S.
Denmark, which calls Greenland a district with its own local government and representatives in the Danish Parliament, also has rejected the idea. “We fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States,” said the Danish Foreign Minister in a British Reuters article.
Greenland’s prime minister was even more clear. “We don’t want to be Americans,” he told Fox News.
Just as is the case for Canada, Greenland’s leadership and people have rejected the idea of U.S. statehood.
Does Puerto Rico want to be a state?
Puerto Rico, on the other hand, has officially requested statehood. Voters have chosen statehood for their permanent political status in four referenda during the 21st century, most recently with a 58% majority in a three-way race. Governor Gonzalez-Colon has said adamantly that she is working to make the territory a state and there is no uncertainty about the majority position among the residents of Puerto Rico.
The Stetson University poll is just the latest in a long string of polls showing that the American people as a whole also support statehood for Puerto Rico, unlike statehood for Canada or Greenland.
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